Opinions on cold trees.

[Unreal_tk]

What are your opinions on a cold tree ? Do they exist ? Do you think it takes a special dog to locate in these ? Do think its rubbish ? I believe it happens, couple winters ago a cat I'm pretty sure was just up there sunning itself.

[al baldwin]

It happens, not all dogs will locate on them, but, a good locator sure can. Al

[1bludawg]

Tom,the ones i remember were on clear,cold days and like you i think they were up there soaking in the sun.Also think it takes a good tree dog to locate them because they've been in the tree for who knows how long .

[Big N' Blue]

JMH UNEDUCATED OPINION.
A really good locating tree dog usually does not make a good bobcat dog.

[al baldwin]

JMH UNEDUCATED OPINION.
A really good locating tree dog usually does not make a good bobcat dog.

If you plan to hunt in big timber, best have a good locator in the pack! If you don/t have a good locator here you don/t have much. Just my opinion. Al

[1bludawg]

Big N Blue, respect your opinion and i know where you're coming from but don't agree.I've owned some that were top running dogs and top tree dogs.That may not meen much but i've also hunted with other guys who have /had these type hounds .I will say there are not a lot of them.By the way good meeting you at the gathering and seeing the pictures of the Big Blues.Have a great day!I'm off for work.

[Big N' Blue]

Thanks Robin, Was nice meeting you and Al also! I think my response was taken out of context. Some time it is hard to write what you want to say or mean. LOL I have had many good hounds that were great on lay-ups, not many that were great on lay-ups that were good all around bobcat dogs. Wish I was off work! You lucky dog! Take care!
See i did it again, I read you were off work, not off to work!!
Hanging around Mark and CRA has left me a little dizzy!!! LOL

[twist]

In area I hunt a cat dog better be able to locate and tree other wise its worthless no 6 to 12 dogs in a pack running cats here with a mix of talent just don't work here. Andy

[Mike Leonard]

Out in the inner mountain west and southwest you better have a star located or you are gonna stretch much spotted fur with hounds. High elevation and low humidity make bobcat scent seemingly evaporate quickly add to this fickle mountain thermals and such and Sir Bob is missed so many times when he hit the top of a ponderosa or fur out here that many times you feel you were running a ghost. Then enters the true located who does not have to rely on the scratch and sniff test but knows how to circle and pick the slightest scent up high. Convinced that it is just not some lingering old scent and that a real critter is there he sets down and barks with conviction. So nice when you may have to crawl and claw up near vertical cliffs or descend into dark ominous canyons to reach the tree.
I recall many years ago chasing a big Tom cat high in the Rockies with a man who was known to have some of the best long tail chasers in the area. His dogs could trail and how and they pulled ahead of my potstickers with ease and I felt today was not going to look to good for me his dogs however seem to run out of trail on a high wind swept ridge and just cast all ways for about 30 minutes and then started back our way as e watched with glasses. One old lumbering red tick I owned however was seen swing around and around in arches sometimes in the timber sometimes out. After a few minutes his quivering locate bawl rolled thru the mountains and then he sat down and started hammering the wood. The fellow I was with said he was freeing slick as his dogs would not miss and he wouldn't come with me to the tree. 45 minutes later the crak of a 22 Colt Woodsman stopped the barking, and sometime later he was able to heft a fluffy Tom cat that had been super high in the top of a large evergreen.

Different cat hunting? Yes but you better have a located out here or else you better buy some traps or snares.

[pete richardson]

i think what hes talking about cats that are already in a tree,,,and dogs finding them, ive never seen this ,,,a guy told me a story once about 2 females with kittens laying in a dead elm, on edge of field ,sunning themselves - cold sunny winter day - have seen this with bear - pretty rare , just normal coonhunting- had one coondog would routinely tree layups, -- one time was on a nitehunt-- she winded ran several hundred yards with head high and treed with coon on outside in big ol den tree, - we looked hard for tracks , werent any twice same niight and no other dogs even barked only dog in hunt with plus points---- i think she was best locator ive seen but far as i know she only ran 2 cats in her life --







ive never even hunted withwhat id call a good cat dog----
seen dogs tree, no particular tree ,, thick softwood, most the time , no clue if or which one was a cat in, i just know i couldnt find a track leaving there ,,,have had coondogs that did this that you could often look right over their head to spot the coon..

[dwalton]

I have seen dogs cold tree happen twice. Once three of us were cold trailing a bob in a open cow pasture with brush intermixed. We had several good bobcat dogs, Doug Brooks, Tony Chapman and myself. The dogs trailed up to a big old growth snag with a hollowed out face, it was raining the bob was in the dry out of the rain. Another time years before this happen the dogs trailed in above me and made a lose in the snow at a old log pile with a second growth tree growing out of it. The dogs keep circling and finally June set the tree about half ass only treeing once in a while. The rest went back out of there. Looking I could see snowed in tracks on the logs and a place the bob had went up to the tree. I feel that through the years I have cold tree a few others but did not get to see them actually tree the cat, but hear the dogs come into a lose and sometimes one trees with a cat there. Few dogs that I have seen will tree on a cold tree. For me the best locating bobcat dog are the best track dogs, they tree because they know that cat did not go out of there. I have 2 or 3 trees a year where the dogs are a tree or two off the tree the cat is in. Usually on a steep hill with the dogs above winding the cat. It takes a smart dog and a good track dog that makes a good locator on bobcats. Some of the best that I have seen are part running dogs that are not quick to tree but have it when they do. The Leopards are good locators also and usually have the right tree. I think a lot of bobcats are missed at the tree by most packs and young inexperience hunters. It does take a good locator to find our cats in this big timber not a hard headed tree dog. A lot of dogs just tree to quick for me. I want a dog to hunt it out before they set a tree. Not tree because they think they have it. Dewey

[LarryBeggs]

I have had it happen once when I know for sure that is what happened. We were sitting on a landing in a fresh clear cut listening to the dogs trail through a patch of timber. They hit the road behind the truck and trailed past the truck out into the new clear cut. Headed straight for the only tree left in the clear cut where we watched them sit down and tree. The cat was sitting there in the sun. Had been watching us the whole time we were listening to the dogs trail. I have treed in old hollow cedar trees several times that could have been layed up cat. But never got to see what was in them.

My cousin cold trailed into a bay job and fight one day. Cat got away from the dogs and made it up a tree. Take care, Larry

[Old dog]

when I was green I just knew them bobs would bailout a lot. then I got tired of feeding worthless dogs and got honest with my self and started to become a cathunter. over the years ive learned a lot and in my opinion a real cat dog is at least 3/4 locater....jmo